Smoke-consuming device for fire-boxes.



W. D; BGYCE.

SMOKE cmsurm Divina oR MRE BOXES.

Patented Aug. 20, 12H8.

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W. D. BOYCE. SMOKE COANSUMING DEVICE FOR EIRE BOXES.

APPLICATRON FILED JAN. 22. 191?.

Patented Aug. 2o, 1918.

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UNTTED sTnTns PATENT onnicn.

WILLIAM I). BOYCE, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.

SMOKE-CONSUMING DEVICE FOR FIRlEl-IBQXIEJS.l

Application filed January 22, 1917.

To all whom t may concer/n:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM D. Boron, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, in the county of New York and State 0f New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Smoke- ConsumingDevices for Fire-Boxes, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part hereof.

My invention has relation to improvements in smoke-consuming devices forfireboxes; and it Consists in the novel features of construction morefully set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

The present invention is an improvement on the structure of thesmoke-consuming device forming the subject-matter of U. S. LettersPatent numbered 1,071,689, issued to me under date of September 2, 1913,and has for its object the elimination of certain objections inherent inthe structure of the patented device, notable among which is thetendency of the air plate or casting which supplies the air to thefire-box to burn out or disintegrate as a result of the corroding actionof the fire gases and incandescent fuel to which it is at alltimesexposed. Another objection to the patented structure is, that incases where the depth of fuel in the fire box happens to reach to thetop of the slots through which the air is admitted, the air currentsmustk force their way through the fuel before mingling with the steamabove the fuel, the eiiiciency of the final mixture to consume the smokebeing in a large measure impaired. This gives rise to the furtherobjection that the service of the air slots in the patented structure isnot uniform, the slots being at times covered by fuel and at other timesexposed. The present improvement offers the following advantages, towit: (1) Excess of air is avoided, only a sufficient amount beingadmitted to serve as a proper complement to the oxygen furnished by thesteam component. (2) There is n0 danger of burning out the supply pipeleading to the steam nozzle. (3) The steam nozzle is susceptible of anydesired adjustment. (4:) The air is not required to work its way throughthe fuel charge, being always admitted to points above the surface ofthe charge. (5) The air service is uniform because the passage of theair into the fire boX is free and unobstructed at all times. (6) It issimple. (7) It presents a better loca- Speccation of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 20, 1918.

serial No. 143,756.

tion for the points of entry of the air into the fire-box. (8) The airis always above the surface of the fuel charge irrespective of the depthof the charge. (9) The parts are readily replaced when worn ordeteriorated. (10) The steam jets have great penetrating power,thoroughly intermingling with the admitted air. The improvementpossesses further and other advantages better apparent from thefollowing detailed description thereof in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which Figure 1 represents a plan of theinvention, parts of the fire-box and boiler being shown in dotted lines,Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the parts shown at the rear of the boilerin Fig. 1, with the air hood partly broken away; Fig. 3 is a frontelevation of the steam risers and their appurtenances, and of the hoodsin the rear thereof, the rear water-leg of the boiler being shown indotted outline; Fig. 4L is an enlarged middle vertical longitudinalsection through the spray-head and jet elbow, and of the hollow staybolt receiving the long leg of the jet elbow, the inner and outer sheetsof the rear water leg being likewise in section; Fig. 5 is a top plan ofthe spray-head with parts brokenaway; and Fig. 6 is a front elevation ofthe spray-head. j

Referring to the drawings, 1, 1', and 2, 2, represent piping leadingfrom the engine eX- haust and 2, 2, live steam pipes leading from theboiler, for supplying exhaust or live steam to the risers 3 which carrythe steam to the spray-heads or nozzles 4L located in the fire-box F. Inthe present improvement the risers 3 are disposed on the outside of therear water-leg L of the boiler B (a locomotive boiler being herein shownby way of example), there being a riser on each side of the chargingdoor D leading to the fire boX. The connection between the riser 3 andspray head 4c is made through the water-leg, the latter being providedat points between the charging door and each side of the water-leg andabovethe surface of the fuel charge in the fire-box, lwith clusters ofspecially provided hollow stay bolts 5.

screwed an elbow 6 to which is in turnV screwed a nipple 7, said nipplebeing connected by a coupling 8 to a jet elbow 9 proj ecting into thetre-box, the short leg of the elbow being provided with a close nipple1C.

to which in turn the spray head 4 is screwed, suitable set screws 11,1l, being provided to hold the parts against movement when once they areproperly adjusted. The spray-head 4 is provided with the usual slit sfor projecting jets of steam across the fire box to mingle with thecomplement of air admitted thereinto through the hollow stay bolts 5. Asshown in the drawings, the stay bolt 5 of the series incloses theconnecting members 7, 8, and the long leg of the member 9, therebyprotecting these parts against direct contact with the water in thewaterleg. The coupling 8 and nipple l0 permit the members 9 and 4 to beadjusted to any position angularly, the member 9 being rotatable aboutthe axis of the long leg thereof, and the member 4 being rotatable aboutits own axis and that of the nipple l0 alined therewith. The characterof adjustment is shown by the dotted position of the parts in Fig. 4where the short leg of the jet elbow 9 in turned downward as against theupturned position shown by the full lines in said ligure. rIhe hollowstay bolts 5 are protected by a hood 12 secured to the rear wall of thewater-leg L in any approved mechanical manner, the hood being open atthe bottom and extending to the bottom of the water leg. The air passesup through the chamber C formed by the hood with the waterleg whence itenters the hollow stay bolts `passing thence directly into the lire boxabove the surface a; of the fuel charge. The hood likewise diverts anyback-fiash through the hollow stay-bolts to the bottom of the hoodthereby protecting the clothing of the fireman from the flame, andpreventing possible injury to the fireman.

The direction of projection of the steam jets from the spray heads 4 istoward the center of the lire-box substantially along lines indicated byt, t, in Fig. 1, although the angle of projection relatively to thecenter longitudinal line of the fire box may be varied according torequirements, since the spray head is rotatable aboutits axis, making itpossible to adjust theslits s angularly to any degree. The elevation ofthe steam jets relatively to the surface of the fuel charge may also beadjusted, since the spray head can be swung-,in a vertical plane aboutthe axis of the long leg of the jet elbow 9. The spray head is thusadjustable both vertically, and rotatably about its axis, making itpossible to accurately adjust the paths of projection of the steam jetsvto suit conditions. In the present improvement no portion of the deviceis exposed to the fuel and fire gases except the inner leg of the member9 and the spray-head 4, and the latter can readily be renewed when wornor disintegrated. There is thus little to repair once the device isinstalled on the boiler, and in this respect the installation is adecided improvement over structures in which the air plate and steamriser are within the tire box and constantly exposed to the destructiveeffects of the re. The number and position of the clusters of hollowstay-bolts 5 are such that they serve to conduct to the right place theproper complement of air intended to be mingled with the steam projectedinto the fire box from the spray heads 4, so that at all times, and by aproper control of the steam admitted on the part of the engineer, themixture can be madeexact to fulfill its function as a perfect and highlyefficient smoke consumer. In cases where a locomotive is standing stillor not running (so there is no exhaust) the engineer in order to burn upthe smoke admits live steam into the pipes by manipulating the blowervalve V as understood in the art.

To increase to the maximum the penetrating power of the jet issuing fromthe slit s of the spray-head, I widen the slit preferably at the centerso as to form the enlarged opening 0 through which the steam issueswithout material disssipation or spreading, causing the jet to carryfurther in the direction of original projection and more effectivelypenetrate the air and gases in the fire box. The result is a morethorough intermingling of steam and air and a more complete combustionof the smoke and unconsumed products. In practice I may have a pluralityof enlargements oropenings such as 0 and I do not wish to be limited tothe single enlargementshown in the drawings.

I do not of course wish to be limited to the use of hollow stay-bolts ashere arranged for admitting the air complement into the lire-box, or tostaybolts arranged in clusters as here shown, any equivalent method ormethods being contemplated under my invention provided of course thatthe air so admitted shall discharge through the rear water-leg (rear7when speaking of locomotive boilers of course) above the surface of thefuel charge on either side of the charging door, and in properquantities to constitute the necessary complement to the steam componentprojected into the lire-box by the spray-heads 4 or any equivalentthereof. Neither do I wish to limit the invention to the use ofspray-heads such as 4, any equivak lent jet nozzle being contemplated bymy invention. Furthermore, I do not wish to be understood as restrictingthe application of the invention to locomotive boilers, or tol anyspecial kind of fuel burnt in the fire box. It may be solid, liquid orgaseous; if solid, it may be in large or small'pieces, or powdered.Wherever necessary the system is provided with controlling valves, theblower valve V above referred to being on the order of that shown in mypatent aforesaid and constituting a part of the present equipment.Features shown in the drawings but not alluded to are well understood bythose skilled in the art, and a description thereof in the presentconnection is unnecessary.

I-Iaving described my invention what I claim is:

l. In a locomotive boiler provided with a fire-boxl bounded in the rearby a water-leg having a fuel charging door, one 0r more hollowstay-bolts disposed in the water-leg on either side of the chargingdoorfor admitting atmospheric air to the fire-box above the surface of thefuel charge, means for causing the inflowing air to traverse the outerwall of the rear water-leg before entering said stay-bolts, and ineansfor conducting steam into the fire-box through the rear water-legindependently of the air delivered through the hollow stay-boltsaforesaid.

2. In combination with a locomotive rebox having a rear water-legprovided with a charging door, a cluster of hollow staybolts disposedthrough the water-leg on either side of the charging door for deliveringair to the ire-boX to points above the fuel charge, a hood for coveringsaid staybolts and conducting the air thereto from points near thebottom of the outer wall of said watersleg, an additional hollowstaybolt disposed through the water-leg7 and a pipe discharging throughsaid stay-bolt and .projecting into the fire-box a complement of steamindependent of the streams of air delivered through the remaining.stay-bolts.

3, In a locomotive boiler provided with a fire-box bounded in the rearby a water-leg having a fuel charging door, one or more hollowstay-bolts disposed in the water-leg on either side of the charging doorfor admitting atmospheric air to the fire-boX above the surface of thefuel charge, means for causing the inflowing air to traverse the outerwall of the rear water-leg before entering said stay-bolts, and means inthe region of the rear corner of the fire-box for pro]ecting toward thecenter of the fire-boX a complement of steam to mingle with the airentering through the hollow stay-bolts.

Ll. In a locomotive boiler provided with a fire-box bounded in the rearby a water-leg having a fuel charging door, a spray nozzle near the rearcorner of the fire-box discharging steam toward the center of thefire-box, one or more hollow stay-bolts disposed in the rear water-legon either side of the charging door for admitting atmospheric air to thefire-box above the surface of the fuel charge, and a hood adjacent theouter wall of the rear water-leg for covering said hollow stay bolts andconducting air thereto from points contiguous to said wall.

5. In a locomotive boiler provided with a fire box bounded in the rearby a water-leg having a fuel charging door, one or more hollowstay-bolts disposed in the water-leg for admitting atmospheric air tothe fuel charged through said door, and a hood for protecting the outerends of the stay-bolts comprising a sheet provided with marginal flangesforming with the rear wall of the water-leg an open bottomed air chamberoperating to direct the air currents to the staybolts, the hoodterminating near the bottom of the water leg whereby any back flash isdiverted downwardly.

6. In a locomotive boiler provided with a fire boX bounded by awater-leg, one or more hollow stay-bolts disposed in the water-leg foradmitting atmospheric air to the fuel in the fire box, and a hood forprotecting the outer ends of the stay-bolts comprising an open bottomedbox-like member positioned adjacent the water leg and extending to apoint near the bottom thereof for conducting atmospheric air to thehollow stay-bolts and for diverting the back-flash toward the bottom ofthe water-leg.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM D. BOYCE.

Witnesses:

A. Gr. BEDELL, HUNTER H. KNOX,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents eachl by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C."

